PA GOP Complicates Stop-Gap Health Coverage for Poor People

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I’m old enough to remember when government paperwork for businesses was seen as a huge menace on the right. Guess there’s no problem with paperwork when the goal is dissuading poor people from getting stop-gap health coverage:

If you are poor in Pennsylvania and temporarily disabled, a health-care worker can fill out a one-page form that qualifies you to receive medical care paid for by the state. But that is changing under a new policy, requiring more paperwork, that Gov. Corbett is implementing, arguing that it will save taxpayers money without denying significant numbers of people medical care. Health-care workers and advocates for the poor, however, say the new policy could leave thousands of people without needed care and drive up medical costs in the long run. “They are using this as a way to deny people health insurance,” said Gene Bishop, a doctor who directs a clinic at Pennsylvania Hospital. “These are sick people with chronic conditions, and they are going to get sicker.”